Over 100,000 textbooks for gov’t primary schools in the NW

The donation is from a FCFA 31.9 Billion grant by the Global Partnership for Education.

Some 1,209 Government Primary Schools in the North West Region are to receive 110,038 free books. They consist of 39,910 language workbooks, 13,550 textbooks and 1,535 language teaching guides. Mathematics has 39,957 workbooks and 1,538 teaching guides.

According to Zebazé Joseph Desiré, the Coach for the North West Region, the first year is focused on ‘Sil’ (the Francophone equivalent of Class One), and Class One.

He added that the project will proceed with ‘Cours preparatoire’ (the Francophone equivalent of Class Two) and Class Two by August 2015 and will close with ‘Cours elementaire 1’ (the Francophone equivalent of Class Three) and Class Three in 2016. Zebazé Joseph Desiré was addressing Inspectors of Basic Education, Head teachers and representatives of Parent-Teachers Associations in Kumbo, Bui Division recently at the launch of the distribution.

He pointed out that the ceremony was to raise awareness of the responsibility of stakeholders in the promotion of accessible and equitable education. The free books are the result of a September 2013 grant of 53.3 million US Dollars (about FCFA 31.9 million) by the Global Partnership for Education. The Minister of Basic Education, Mrs. Youssouf née Hadjidja Alim, directed the money to the provision of textbooks and other educational material to all Government Primary Schools in the country.

This is to increase the ratio of pupils with access to books in Cameroon to at least a book for three children. He thanked the World Bank, the Cameroon Equity and Quality For Improved Learning project (CEQUIL) and the Minister of Basic Education for entrusting him with the follow-up of this distribution in the North West Region.

The Bui Divisional Delegate of Basic Education, Angwafor Clement Mankefo, thanked the government and the World Bank for the free books. He called on school officials to jealously preserve the books and to judiciously use them for the education of the pupils. The First Deputy Mayor of Kumbo Council, Mrs Lukong Margaret Beri, appreciated the gift of the books and thanked the initiators immensely for it.

The Senior Divisional Officer for Bui, Nzeki Theophile, who launched the distribution, said the books had come to encourage a reading culture amongst pupils. He said books, being an instrument of knowledge, should be well kept in libraries and only used at the right moment. He reminded head teachers that the books were public property and should never be misused as defaulters will be penalized.